I attended an afternoon workshop on defining and working with all the resources available to you to move your personal development or your business forward. It was an interesting look at all we have around us that we typically forget or pass over as we rush through our week. We were asked to make a list of 100 resources that we have and were given a few minutes to complete the task. Pens and fingers on tablets moved furiously down the page listing person after person and item after item. Most people had 30 or more resources listed in a very short time. We shared part of our list with the group and the ideas from others in the room inspired us to add to our lists. One that I mentioned was clutter. We think of it as junk but if we were to go through many of the boxes stuffed in our attic or under a bed - we might find treasures that could be used in our work or in some other way we hadn't previously considered. A teacher friend of mine planned to have her students help her sort through some boxes of supplies she had accumulated over the years. She knew that they would be able to come up with numerous ideas on how the "stuff" could be used in alternative ways. Those little ones were creative problem solvers.
As I look around the yoga room at the gym I find a number of resources available to the class that we aren't taking advantage of. We could use the walls to help us balance or open our shoulders as we try to stack our hips and shoulders on top of each other in a one-legged balance, or stuff a sock under the heel of our hand to help take pressure out of the risk in a pose, or hold onto our friend to assist in our balance or gently pushing their leg higher to give them more of a stretch - so many resources around us that easily get ignored.
When is the last time you looked at your stuff and played with ways to utilize it differently?
Engage friends, family or co-workers for a brainstorming session around a box of stored items and see what possibilities emerge.